Editorial
Clashes at RU
A hotbed of student rivalry or seat of learning?
Our university campuses have long been the battle ground of the student wings of the rival political parties instead of what the country expects these to be, seat of learning and exchange of thoughts and ideas, befitting the place which produces future leaders of the country. The tale was enacted in its most abhorrent manifestation on Saturday at the Rajshahi University campus when clashes between the aggrieved general students and students belonging to the ruling coalition partners, allegedly backed by the law enforcing agencies, left almost two hundred students, teachers and media personnel injured. To top it all, the university has been closed sine die. It all started with the nocturnal intrusion by three masked men into a women's hostel of the university. The students were incensed by the seeming indifference of the provost and the proctor, to their complaints of encroachment of their privacy and safety. Regrettably, an incident originating from the unauthorised entry of the women's hostel snowballed into pitched battles between the aggrieved students and the law enforcing agencies that lasted for several hours. The whole episode raises some questions. First and foremost, how did the intruders manage to not only negotiate the gate and the wall but also gain entry inside the girls' common room without being detected? The guards were inactive while the residents of the hall raised alarm. It shows the lax security in women's hostel, where no negligence should be brooked. Second, how and why did a section of the university employees purportedly in cohorts with students belonging to the ruling coalition attack the agitating students? Third, why was a simple incident allowed to take a violent turn in the first place, where the police had to resort to firing in the blank and causing injuries to almost 200 people? We also cannot overlook the errant behaviour of the agitating students who, whatever be the cause of their grievance, cannot justify their forced entry inside the VC's residence, destruction of public property and holding the provost and house tutors hostage. Given the extent and intensity of the flare-up, one is not certain whether there are any other causes that led to it. However, whatever might be the reasons, we call upon the relevant authorities to ensure that the students, particularly the female students, are not subjected to security hazards in their own dormitory and that students' safety and wellbeing are not mixed up with petty party politics. We also feel that, under such situations it is also important that the law enforcing agencies play a neutral role, otherwise it tends to add fuel to the fire.
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